The invention relates generally to ski equipment and more particularly to apparatus for providing longitudinal adjustment of the position of a skier on a pair of skis.
It is well known that the position of the bindings on a pair of skis is important in order to obtain the maximum performance characteristics designed into the skis. In designing a particular ski the manufacturer attempts to determine the optimum binding location and then provide this information to the public, particularly the ski shops where bindings are mounted to skis, so that the technician has the required information for placing the binding in the best location. However, due to slight differences from one ski to another, even of the same design, in practice it is found that the so-called sweet spot is frequently missed. Missing the sweet spot by as little as a fraction of an inch can drastically affect the performance of the ski.
Although bindings can be remounted without adversely affecting the ski, as long as the screw holes do not over lap, they can only be remounted once. That is, it is generally recognized, that three or more sets of holes in the ski weakens it beyond an acceptable level. Therefore, if the person mounting the bindings does not find the sweep spot in his second attempt, he can make no further changes without adversely affecting the ski.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,926,451 a solution to this problem is shown and described in which a longitudinally adjustable plate is received in opposed grooves formed in side walls of a ski and with the bindings, in turn, attached to the plate. This plate and concommitantly the binding can be moved--fore or aft--so that the binding can be positioned at precisely the sweet spot for that specific ski. In addition, when the skier wishes to change the location of the bindings temporarily due to a change in snow conditions, terrain, or some other reason, he can easily do this and then return the bindings to their original position whenever he desired without weakening the skis in any way and without having to go to a ski shop to effect the relocation.
However, even though excellent longitudinal adjustment of the position on a ski is provided by the aforementioned patent, it requires that the ski be specifically made to accomodate and capture the slidable plate.
It is an object of this invention to provide means for enabling the longitudinal adjustment of the location of a skier on a pair of skis which can be used with any standard pair of skis and standard bindings.
Another object of the invention is the provision of apparatus which will enable a skier to change has position on a pair of skis without adversely affecting the characteristics designed into the ski.
Various additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.